cracking

Beijing introduced new rules this month cracking down on overseas investments, citing national security concerns and cranking up curbs on buying US shares that were imposed on Chinese investors in May.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Minetree has "cracking comic timing", the Independent said, but appeared to be "hemmed in by the Reese Witherspoon impression she's presumably been told to do".

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

Roberts beelined to him, cracking inside jokes to gently prod him out of his shell.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026

But as the country struggles with a slowdown and enormous debt, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is cracking down on officials who try to boost their careers with flashy projects and rash policies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

My voice was catching and cracking, so I let it rest for a second.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

All the Arctic peoples had been thrown into panic, and so had the animals, not only by the fog and the magnetic variations but by unseasonal crackings of ice and stirrings in the soil.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

I said nothing, and Leper, having said so much, went on to say more, to speak above the wind and crackings as though his story would never be finished.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

The campus was impressive for what happened within its walls: chest crackings, organ transplants, molecular imagings, genetic probes, and virtually any other medical service known in the advanced world.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Even the noise of the motor seemed quieter, and above it could be heard whisperings and occasional crackings.

From Stubble by Looms, George

This was an unspeakable consolation, for at night the old house was so full of the sudden crackings of warped timber and the scampering of rats that entire loneliness was unendurable.

From The Firm of Girdlestone by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir